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At Your Service: Interdisciplinary Team

At the Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals at the Cummings School Veterinary Medicine, we rely heavily on a talented team of veterinary specialists to help treat small animals with hepatobiliary disease. Often times, diagnosing hepatobiliary disease is a complicated process given the liver’s wide-ranging role in digestion, intermediary metabolism and biotransformation. Additionally, the liver is sensitive to secondary injury from many systemic disorders as well.

The diagnosis of hepatobiliary disease often requires expert diagnostic imaging (ultrasound and scintigraphy) as well as histopathologic interpretation of hepatic biopsy material.

Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals is fortunate to have Dr. Dominque Penninck, one of the pioneers of hepatobiliary ultrasound, on staff. He is joined by pathologists, Dr. Sam Jennings, who trained with the world renowned veterinary hepatic pathologist Dr. John Cullen, and Dr. Arlen Rogers, whose research interests include animals models of hepatic cancer.

Our cardiologist, Dr. John Rush, is also available to manage intrahepatic shunts with interventional radiology. These individuals are complemented by a skilled group of board certified anesthesiologists who often help us with the complicated management of our critically ill patients with hepatobiliary disease.

Lastly, we have a team of nutritionists, including Dr. Lisa Freeman and Dr. Calin Heinze, who help us meet the dietary requirement of our patients. Some nutrients that could be of concern often include sodium, copper and/or protein balance. In addition, many hepatobiliary patients have a need for the placement of enteral nutrition tubes and occasionally formulation of balanced homemade diets.

Dominique Penninck, DVM, ACVR
Professor
PhD – University of Liege, Belgium
DVM – University of Liege, Belgium
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Radiology
Diplomate European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging

Sam Jennings, DVM, ACVP
Assistant Professor
DVM – Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
MSpVM – North Carolina State University
American College of Veterinary Pathologists (Anatomic Pathology)

Lisa Freeman
Nutrition
PhD – Tufts University School of Nutrition
DVM with thesis – Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
BS – Tufts University
Board Certification: American College of Veterinary Nutrition